Tropical Salad with Honey Lime Shrimp

I've had this recipe for Honey Lime Shrimp stored in my Pinterest account for forever and I've been wanting to make it. So with that as my inspiration, I created a salad with Honey Lime dressing and combined it and the shrimp with mangos, kiwis, rasberries, and bits of ramen noodle pieces.


Tropical Salad with Honey Lime Shrimp

For shrimp:

• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• zest of 1 lime 
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Creole seasoning, to taste 

For dressing: 

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1/2 packet flavor seasoning for ramen noodles 

For salad: 

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 kiwi, diced
• handful of rasberries 
• smashed ramen noodle pieces, for topping 
• lettuce of your choice (I used a spinach and spring mix)

1. In a large ziploc bag, combine all ingredients for the marinade. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Flip the bag once or twice to make sure all shrimp are well coated with the marinade. 

2. While shrimp are marinading, combine all ingredients for the dressing and let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to eat. This is also a good time to chop the fruit for the salad. 

3. When ready to cook the shrimp, let them sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a large skilled to medium-high heat and add shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded. There is no need to add additional butter or oil because of the olive oil in the marinade. 

4. Let shrimp cook on one side for a minute, until they curl up and start to pink. Flip them over and cook for another 30 seconds until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from pan. (I didn't include this in the ingredients, but at this point I added some orange bell pepper and cooked it a bit and had it with my salad). 

5. Combine lettuce, fruits, ramen noodle pieces and shrimp. Toss or top with dressing and enjoy!

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

This is more of a spread than actual bru-sketta, but it's great for parties and was a winner at the one I brought this to! I like keeping them separate or else the toast would get soggy - and that would be no buono. I used 4 tomatoes for this recipe because it was for a large group, but if you're serving a smaller party, 2 tomatoes would probably be enough. Also - I like using balsamic glaze because it's a bit sweeter and thicker than vinegar, but it doesn't really matter which one you decide to use.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

• 4 red or yellow heirloom tomatoes, diced  
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp balsamic glaze (or vinegar) 
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 basil leaves, julienned 
• 6-8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, diced  

Instructions: 

1) Dice tomatoes and stir in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic glaze (or vinegar), brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dice mozzarella cheese and stir in half of it, leaving the other half to put in right before serving. Do the same with the basil, stir in half of it. 

2) Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. 

3) Right before serving, add in the rest of the mozzarella and the basil. Serve alongside toast. 

Smothered Chicken Thighs with Zucchini, Squash, and Mushrooms

This is my favorite go-to meal to make because (1) it's easy (2) it's delicious and (3) I love me some chicken thighs. My dad used to cook this all the time when we were younger so creative rights go to Big Steve, you go Big Steve. This is quite a tasty meal, but be forewarned that your whole house will smell like straight up home cooked food. In undergrad, I cooked this and went to a meeting afterwards and my friends definitely let me know, that although I made them hungry, I smelled like a big delicious onion.

Smothered Chicken Thighs with Zucchini, Squash, and Mushrooms

• 6 chicken thighs (my favorite is skinless & boneless but you can use any kind)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil 
• 1 large onion, mulched 
• 1 tsp garlic, minced  
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 cup water
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 squash, sliced 
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Creole seasoning, to taste
• Dash of red pepper flakes

Instructions:

	1.  Cut onion into small enough pieces to fit into a food processor and mulch onions until there are no big pieces left and mixture is almost liquid.
	2.  After drizzling olive oil onto skillet, pour onions at the bottom and put fire on medium. Lay chicken thighs smooth side down and season with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning (I use Tony’s). Add garlic at this time. Cook chicken thighs for 20 minutes, flipping them to ensure both sides get cooked.
	3.  As soon as you put the chicken thighs to cook, place chicken bouillon cubes into 1 cup of water so that they dissolve by the time you need to add them.
	4.  After cooking chicken thighs for 20 minutes and when the onions start browning, add the 1 cup of water with the dissolved chicken bouillon cubes. Add 1 more cup of water and the Worcestershire sauce. This is also when I add a few dashes of red pepper flakes for some extra heat.
	5.  Add mushrooms and cover pan. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add the squash and zucchini and let cook for another 10 minutes.
	6.  The chicken thighs should get so tender that the meat falls easily apart and all the vegetables should be soft. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Firecrackers

Technically these bad boys are called "Firecrackers" but I just like to refer to them as "Crack" because they are so addicting. My little brother's friend's mom (whew!) made these for the boys and big sis Steph probably ate most of them... but that's because I just couldn't contain myself!

Firecrackers

Ingredients:

• 3 bags of oyster crackers
• 1 pack Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
• 1 cup oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together and stir well with whisk. Pour over crackers, making sure oil mixture has coated all crackers evenly. Every 15 minutes for 1 hour, turn over the crackers in mixture making sure all crackers are well coated. 

*I probably used 3/4 cup of oil when I did my crackers and divided into two batches. On one I left it as is and on the other I added about 1 tbsp of truffle oil which turned out to be really yummy. 

Cajun Chicken Cacciatore

After a long day of working and getting soaked by a surprise thunderstorm on my lunch break, all I wanted for dinner was something savory with a pasta. I had made chicken cacciatore once before, but it was in a slow cooker and this time I didn't have the luxury of cooking for 8 hours since I'm a working gal now! So using my trusty Pioneer Woman as a guide, I whipped up this Cajun Chicken Cacciatore. In general, a cacciatore is made with a braised chicken (or rabbit) and is prepared with tomatoes, onions, herbs, and bell peppers. You can even include some wine if you like - I am a certified Wino - so wine is definitely included in this recipe. I'm calling it "cajun" because I decided to add some celery - which with onions and bell peppers - completes the almighty Cajun Holy Trinity and I am all about that. And of course, with me being raised in South Louisiana, a sprinkle of Tony Chachere's is a must.  

Cajun Chicken Cacciatore

• Butter, 2-3 Tbsp
• Olive oil, 4 Tbsp
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Flour, 1/2 cup
• Chicken thighs, 8 whole
• Garlic, 1-2 cloves 
• Onion, diced
• Bell Pepper, diced
• Celery, 3 stalks 
• Red wine, 1/2 cup
• Parsley, about a handful chopped
• Basil, about 4 leaves sliced 
• Diced tomatoes, 1 can
• Rotel, 1 can 
• Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). 
2. After trimming the fat from the thighs, lay out flat and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. 
3. Heat 1 Tbsp of butter with 1 Tbsp of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Before placing the chicken skin down in the pan, each piece must be dredged in flour on both sides. (I usually would have used white flour to dredge the chicken in, but I was at my heathy parents' house and only had wheat flour - but I liked the texture and color I was able to get with the wheat, so both should do the job.)
4. Cook 4 thighs at a time and brown the chicken on both sides. After browning, transfer the pieces to a separate plate until all the vegetables are cooked (you will add them back later). Pour about half of the fat and discard.
5. Add the diced onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the skillet and sauté until soft.  Pour in wine and allow it to bubble. 
6. Pour in canned tomatoes and Rotel and stir to combine. I added some parsley and basil at this point as well. 
7. Add the chicken back into the pan, skin side up. Place the lid on top of the pot and put in oven for 45 minutes (I was in a little bit of a hurry when I cooked this, so I did 30 minutes on 375 degrees and it worked fine). 
8. While the chicken is cooking, cook your pasta according to the directions on the package. I served some penne with this dish and it went really well together. 
9. Serve with some Parmesan cheese and enjoy!